


Pose

by eos_3



Series: Stained Lips, Sealed Tongue - 30 Kisses Sakura/Sai [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-08-14
Updated: 2009-08-14
Packaged: 2018-03-03 04:24:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2837849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eos_3/pseuds/eos_3
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sai agrees to draw Sakura's portrait, though they haven't agreed upon a price.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pose

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 30 kisses community challenge #1 - Look Over Here

"Try not to touch anything," Sai said, as he led Sakura in, flicking on the lights. "You can sit over there." The room smelled slightly of old paper and the clove oil that went into polishing weapons, along with something dry and chemical like bleach. Not unpleasant, but it gave her the sense of a place of work, more than a comfortable home.

She smoothed her skirt as her eyes adjusted and moved to sit on the edge of the squat, blocky leather chair he directed her to, next to a shuttered window. Sakura licked her lips and watched him take off his jacket and hang it up in the narrow closet by the front door.

This was the first time she'd been so deep into his apartment, which doubled as his studio. She liked how very tidy he kept it, but every surface was in use in some fashion. The table nearby held a neat stack of sketchbooks, a rack with several different sized scrolls, and two brush holders crammed full of brushes, ordered by size and length.

Seeing lengths of silk with elaborate, loose calligraphy dancing down them, draping the larger table near his tiny kitchen, she suspected he had several projects going at once.

It seemed odd, too, how a room could be so full of objects and still look somewhat sterile and neutral. None of the pictures decorating his walls were of people or animals like the ones he used in his ink jutsus; only things - stark landscapes, bold still-life drawings, calligraphy. Yet, she had asked him to do a portrait.

Sakura comforted herself with the fact that he could have said no, if he didn't like drawing people. She knew he'd done those pictures of himself with his brother, so maybe it wasn't that.

She watched him set up in silence, choosing his materials with care as he picked through several low drawers, and then to a wide, low cabinet lined with horizontal shelves which held the paper he meant to use as a ground for the work.

Sai clipped the large sheet of green-tinged paper he chose to a board, and then carried it over to her, dragging a stool behind him. He set the board on top of the stool and went back to get the rest of his materials, including a small tray to rest the wooden box of pastels and a small assortment of pencils upon.

Returning, he opened the window behind her, letting sunlight pour into the room and over them both, warming her enough to melt some of her apprehension. The corner of his mouth turned up infinitesimally. This close she caught the acrid scent of ink and sweat and again more faintly, the nose-tingling spice of cloves, from the air as he passed.

"Do you think you can sit still?" he asked, looming over her, examining her face. He touched her cheek, tilted her chin up, and not for the first time her skin twitched with surprise that his fingers weren't cold.

"I don't know, I've never done something like this. How long does it take?" She already felt skittish and wanted to squirm.

He scratched his chin, a gesture she suspected he'd picked up from Kakashi. "Hmm. Maybe an hour. Maybe less. I'm fast, but I don't usually do color."

She nodded, thinking that it couldn't be too difficult. As long as he didn't say anything obnoxious. It was a good thing she didn't have to hold her breath. "I can do it. How do you want me to sit?"

"Here, turn your body like this." He lay his hands on her shoulders gently guiding her. "Cross your legs at the ankle, and lean back on your hands. Now look over here, and pick a spot to stare at." She knew he meant over his shoulder, but with his face so close, really she was looking at his mouth, and remembering how soft his lips could be.

"Okay." She would stare at a blank portion of the wood paneling, which had a small knot right in the middle. Sakura couldn't see a clock, fortunately, as having a sense of time might make her tense up.

"Good. Now don't move. With the way the light's hitting you, I may be able to fool the viewer into thinking that you're not a hag," he teased.

Blood rushed into her face, eyes snapping wide, her body tensing, as her short nails dug into the leather of her seat. Watching Sai's back, she struggled not to shift or give in to the temptation to rip his spine out through his throat. He only wanted to get a rise out of her, he only meant to put her off-balance, and get all of her attention.

Sakura tried to calm herself, as he propped his drawing board up, bracing it against his thighs. His expression might look blank, but the barest flush had crept into his cheeks, the tiniest curve rent his mouth. She couldn't help thinking he got off on provoking her fury.

Finally, he picked up a pencil to start laying out the baselines, and licking the point, he leaned over and tapped the other end beneath her chin. "Up a little. So, how are you planning to pay me for this?"

"I won't murder you in your sleep," she growled, but didn't shift from her pose.

Sai gave her a small, delicate smile as he set down the pencil and chose a pastel. "Oh, you're staying the night?"

"Do you want me to?" she asked, though she hadn't expected him to take it that way.

"If I say yes, will you let me draw you with your shirt off?"

"Ask me again, when I see what I'm paying for," she said, though she still intended to take him up on his invitation.


End file.
